With a record number of members this year, Binghamton University’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) aims to better socioeconomic situations in and outside of the campus community.
The club has grown over the past few years from 80 to 200 members, making it the biggest non-religious group on campus and allowing it to expand project possibilities.
“EWB is changing the world we live in,” said Nick Fannin, president of BU EWB and a senior industrial engineering major. “We are not solely focused on building things, but trying to involve social and environmental aspects into [our work].”
Florie Ho, public relations chair for EWB and senior bio-engineering major, takes pride in how EWB helped the Boys and Girls Club in Endicott rebuild their storage room after flooding in 2006, noting the months of planning and work that went into the project.
“We can do a lot in New York state,” Ho said. “We’re very hands-on. You’re volunteering and can say ‘I helped build this.’”
EWB can only take on projects with the guidance of professionals.
According to Fannin, this creates opportunities for networking with industry leaders and alumni of the club.
This semester, as part of their Top Trail Project, EWB is improving the Redwing Trail in the Nature Preserve. Seeing that trees were dying, the EWB planned to clear out the trail and build boardwalks.
The group also built a fence along a cliff at the George F. Johnson Elementary School in Union-Endicott last year. Using unique problem-solving methods, the EWB built this fence to create an “outdoor classroom” so that science classes could safely utilize their backyard.
The group also works to eliminate environmental problems at the University.
Jim Wolf, director of computing services at BU, approached EWB about designing a plan to combat BU’s increasing paper consumption. Along with BU groups New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) and the Student Environmental Awareness Club (SEAC), the group’s engineers strive to make a difference.
“We are trying to better understand the nature of the problem, trying to plan events that will be effective in changing behavior in students and faculty,” Wolf said.
The group will release a survey to 1,800 students and faculty in an attempt to isolate the issue.
EWB is sponsored by local businesses, such as Lowes, and University departments including Physical Facilities and Watson School of Engineering.
According to Fannin, the club applies for a number of grants and holds fundraisers at Late Nite Binghamton. On-campus engineering groups, such as Society of Automotive Engineers and American Society for Mechanical Engineers, donate supplies for local projects.
EWB finds its projects through word of mouth or from past solicitors. At times, representatives of the group go to sites in the tri-city area and directly ask if help is needed with designing or implementing engineering tasks, Ho said.
Theodore Baltis, vice president of EWB and senior mechanical engineering major, stated that the group is actively developing an international project.
“We pick a town or village, often times in developing nations,” Baltis said. “We find what that community needs.”
In the past, EWB has built a medical clinic in Peru, sent 10 members to Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina to help in animal shelters and built a children’s playground for Woodburn Court-II Apartments in Binghamton.